Country of citizenship: United States
Residence:
Medina,
WA,
United States
Industry: Software
Marital Status: married
, 3 children
Harvard University, Drop Out

Does the Comcast bid for Disney signal Gates' entry in big media? That's what some are speculating, given Microsoft's 7% stake in the cable giant. Any new media deal by Comcast would likely involve Microsoft, if only to draw on the software maker's $50 billion in capital. Lately, Microsoft acting more mature, paying out dividends and nixing stock options, but no less formidable: "We're just at the beginning of what we can do with software," proclaimed Gates at company meeting last July. Microsoft's chief software architect pushing to move company beyond PCs into TVs, cell phones, cars, even wristwatches. Flagship Windows operating system runs 94% of the world's desktop computers, but company facing heated pressure from Linux, whose open-source system for servers is growing more quickly than Microsoft's. Expectations high for Windows successor, dubbed Longhorn, which might surface in 2005. Outside the office, world's biggest philanthropist devoting billions to eradicating infectious diseases (polio, AIDS) and developing vaccines through $24 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Methodically diversifying: sells 20 million shares a quarter, reinvests via Cascade Investments with stakes in Cox Communications, Canadian National Railway, Republic Services.

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